Yugoslavism
Encyclopedia
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
or patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
centred upon the Yugoslav
Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
("South Slav
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
") peoples within the Yugoslav populated territories of Southeastern Europe. Yugoslavism has historically advocated the union of all Yugoslav populated territories now composing Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and the presently disputed region of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, and Vardar Macedonia
Vardar Macedonia
Vardar Macedonia is an area in the north of the Macedonia . The borders of the area are those of the Republic of Macedonia. It covers an area of...
. Yugoslavism was a potent political force during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
with the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip was the Bosnian Serb who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914...
and the subsequent invasion of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
by Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, which sought to rally Yugoslavs against Austro-Hungarian imperial domination and in support of an independent Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
that was achieved in 1918.
Yugoslavists claim that the factional divide, differences, and conflict between the Yugoslav peoples are the result of foreign imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
in the history of the Balkans
History of the Balkans
The Balkans is an area of southeastern Europe situated at a major crossroads between mainland Europe and the Near East. The distinct identity and fragmentation of the Balkans owes much to its common and often violent history and to its very mountainous geography.-Neolithic:Archaeologists have...
, particularly under Catholic and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
rule that divided Yugoslavs on religion. As a result of religious division, Yugoslavism has typically avoided religious overtones.
Yugoslavism had two major internal divisions that typically splintered the movement. One faction, largely dominated by Serbs has promoted a centralized Yugoslavia and assimilation of all Yugoslav peoples into a single Yugoslav nationality. The other faction, dominated by Croats and non-Serb Yugoslavs, has supported a decentralized and multicultural federation that would preserve existing identities while promoting unity, while being opposed to the idea of centralization and assimilation that they deem as favouring Serb hegemony rather than Yugoslav unity.
Rise of Yugoslavism
The concept of Yugoslavism first arose in the 1830s with the creation of the Illyrian movementIllyrian movement
The Illyrian movement , also Croatian national revival , was a cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of 19th century, around the years of 1835–1849...
that based its views of South Slavic national identity upon the ideal of national awakening of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. The Illyrian movement was formed by Croatian writers who emphasized the common ethnic and linguistic ties between the South Slavic peoples as a basis for their cooperation and eventual political unification. The Illyrian movement was centred in Croatia and Croatian politics, believing that a Croatian renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
was necessary to be achieved prior to the movement's long-term goal of ethnic and political unification of South Slavs. Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the Croatian national reformation, also known as the Illyrian Movement.-Origin:...
, a key figure of the Illyrian movement declared Croats and Serbs to be the two major subgroups of the South Slav or "Illyrian" nationality, which also included Slovenes, and South Slavic inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. In spite of its pan-South Slavic ideals, the Illyrian movement was dominated by upper-class Croats, with little support amongst Serbs, Slovenes, or other South Slavic peoples.
During the Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
, the Illyrian movement became a strong political force in the Hapsburg Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, and advocated cooperation between Croats and Serbs to oppose Hungarian rule of its South Slavic populated territories.
The concept and term "Yugoslavism" was founded in the later-half of the nineteenth century by two Croatian Catholic Bishops
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
: Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic bishop and benefactor.-Early life and rise as a cleric:...
, an ethnically mixed Croat-German liberal politician; and Franjo Rački
Franjo Racki
Franjo Rački was a Croatian historian, politician and writer. He compiled important collections of old Croatian diplomatic and historical documents, wrote some pioneering historical works, and was a key founder of the Yugoslavian Academy of Sciences and Arts.-Historian:Rački was born in Fužine,...
who both emphasized Yugoslavism as a supranational cultural patriotism to unite South Slavs on the basis of common origins, cultural ties, and spiritual bonds of South Slavs. However like the Illyian movement, Strossmeyer's and Rački's Yugoslavism found little support outside of Croatia. Yugoslavism faced strong competition from other nationalist movements seeking to rally the various South Slav peoples, such as Serbian nationalism
Serbian nationalism
Serbian nationalism refers to the ethnic nationalism of Serbs. Originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, under the influence of Serbian linguist Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and Ilija Garašanin....
. Initially Serbian nationalists who were focused on fighting the Turks, did not cooperate with Yugoslavists, seeing little benefit in a joint movement or unification with Croats of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However this period of noncooperation was briefly broken in the mid-1860s when Strossmeyer and Serbian foreign minister Ilija Garašanin
Ilija Garašanin
Ilija Garašanin was a Serbian politician and statesman, serving as Interior Minister and Prime Minister ....
agreed to work together to create "a Yugoslav state free from Austria or Turkey."
The concept of Yugoslavism did not become strong until the beginning of the twentieth century due to the lack of belief that Yugoslavs could realistically unify and the lack of popular government in Yugoslav populated territories. Yugoslavism began to arise with the overthrow of the Obrenović dynasty in Serbia in 1903 and the creation of a popular government within a constitutional monarchy. After the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
by Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
in 1908 Yugoslavism soared as the multiple Yugoslav denominations saw themselves as victims of foreign imperialism. In 1912, the eruption of the Balkan wars saw various Yugoslavs unite against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In 1913, Slovene intellectuals published a manifesto recognizing the existence of a Yugoslav nation and calling for its independence, declaring:
As it is a fact that we Slovenes, Croats and Serbs constitute a compact linguistic and ethnic group with similar economic conditions, and so indissolubly linked by a common fate on a common territory that no one of the three can aspire to a separate future, and in consideration of the fact that among the Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs, the Jugoslav thought is even today strongly developed, we have extended our national sentiments beyond our frontier to the Croats and Serbs…By this we all become members of one united Jugo-slav nation.
World War I and the creation of Yugoslavia
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip was the Bosnian Serb who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914...
, a Serb associated with Young Bosnia
Young Bosnia
Young Bosnia was a revolutionary movement active before World War I, the members were predominantly school students who were ethnic Serbs, but included Bosniaks...
, a group composed of Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
, Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, and Bosniaks
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
, marked the beginning of a militant nationalist activity by Yugoslavs against Austro-Hungarian rule. In response to the outbreak of the war a number of Croats and diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
Serbs supported Croat-Serb cooperation against Austria-Hungary with the desire of creating a federation based on cooperation between them. Serbs in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
on the other hand preferred either a Greater Serbia
Greater Serbia
The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia applies to the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology directed towards the creation of a Serbian land which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to the Serbian nation...
or a centralized Yugoslavia that would in effect create a Greater Serbia within it. The leadership of the Croatian Peasant and social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
parties in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
generally supported a federal Yugoslav state that would recognize the equality of the Serb, Croat and Slovene nations as distinct and separate tribal sub-nations of the Yugoslav nation.
As the Serbian military made advances against Austria-Hungary in the early months of the war, Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić
Nikola Pašic
Nikola P. Pašić was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat, the most important Serbian political figure for almost 40 years, leader of the People's Radical Party who, among other posts, was twice a mayor of Belgrade...
requested support from the Serbian parliament to support the Serbian government's official war aims that declared that Serbia would support the liberation of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes under Austro-Hungarian rule. Pašić supported the creation of the Yugoslav Committee
Yugoslav Committee
Yugoslav Committee was a political interest group formed by South Slavs from Austria-Hungary during World War I aimed at joining the existing south Slavic nations in an independent state.Founding members included:* Frano Supilo* Ante Trumbić...
to be composed of Yugoslavs émigrés from Austria-Hungary. The Yugoslav Committee was led by Yugoslavist Ante Trumbić
Ante Trumbic
Ante Trumbić was a Croatian politician in the early 20th century. He was one of the key politicians in the creation of a Yugoslav state....
and initially composed of twelve Croats (including eight from Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
and two from Croatia proper), three Serbs, and one Slovene. The Yugoslav Committee lobbied the Allies to support the liberation of the Yugoslav peoples of Austria-Hungary. Pašić was dismayed with the discovery that the Allies had promised to give Italy a substantial portion of Dalmatia and believed that the Committee should attempt to convince the Allies that this was unacceptable and an injustice.
In 1917, Pašić, representing the Serbian government, and Trumbić, representing the Yugoslav Committee signed the Corfu Declaration
Corfu Declaration
The Corfu Declaration is the agreement that made the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia possible. In 1916, the Serbian Parliament in exile decided the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia at a meeting inside the Municipal Theatre of Corfu, Greece...
on the Greek island of Corfu that declared the intention to create a Yugoslav state to be known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes that was to be headed by a "constitutional, democratic, and parliamentary monarchy" headed by the Serbian ruling dynasty, the House of Karađorđević.
At the end of World War I, the National Council of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
was formed in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
. Shortly thereafter, on 1 December 1918, King Alexander of Serbia proclaimed the existence of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes which was recognized by Belgrade and the National Council in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
on the 28th and 29th of December.